Inside Iowa State
June 9, 2000
Reactor to be decommissioned starting June 12
by Skip Derra
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission has approved Iowa State's plan to decommission its
teaching nuclear reactor. Workers from Duke Engineering &
Services, Bolton, Mass., began preparation work June 5.
Demolition is scheduled to begin June 12.
"The actual demolition and removal of our reactor is one of the later stages of the decommissioning process," said Daniel Bullen, mechanical engineering and director of Iowa State's nuclear engineering program. "If all goes according to schedule, reactor demolition and waste shipment will be completed by the middle of August."
After demolition and shipment of wastes, the NRC must approve the final report, a process that could be completed by October or November, Bullen said. The NRC will review the work before releasing Iowa State from its license.
Iowa State's 150-ton teaching reactor, first operable in November 1959, was one of the first teaching reactors operated by a U.S. university.
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